As an asside the Sharks don't scare me a hell of a lot BUT they have three big time pivots while Vancouver has a solid 1 -2 and fuck all else . The Sharks probably have three of the top 30 centres in the game.... 4 if you consider Marleau who is a very good centre. Until Vancouver solves the riddle in the middle they will not beat this team with any regularity. Canucks aren't far off IMHO but good luck finding a good centre these days. Cost will be heavy.

As an asside the Sharks don't scare me a hell of a lot BUT they have three big time pivots while Vancouver has a solid 1 -2 and fuck all else . The Sharks probably have three of the top 30 centres in the game.... 4 if you consider Marleau who is a very good centre.

Not sure why that doesn't scare you....

3 fricken awesome centres and one displaced to wing.

Not to mention Burns who hasn't put together a full season yet but overtime I see the guy he looks like an absolute stud power forward.

By my count that's 5 very high end forwards, to go along with good goaltending and a decent defence. I don't think it's just our asses they will be kicking this year.

Couture is what most of us thought Ryan Kesler was during the 2011 season. He is an absolutely complete player.

Brent Burns has been an absolute godsend to the Sharks forward group as well.

100% agree.

That Shark forward group might turn out to be the best in the West this season.

I think without question.

They are a very well oiled machine up front right now. They cross and pass quickly and are very good at giving the puck carrier options on the rush. What is really putting their forwards over the top right now is how quickly they react as a unit to forced turnovers. When one of them forces a turnover and takes the puck, he almost always has a linemate in an open spot to start a rush or create options. It's really something to watch.

I think there are only going to be two chinks in the Sharks' armor this year.

Their defense and goaltending.

They have a solid blueline crew, but outside of Boyle nobody that really screams LOOKOUT offensively, so the forwards won't get much help there methinks. If teams really go hard at the forwards and out man them 4-3 while leaving a skater to cover the two points, that could be the way to stifle the Sharks. I thought that was a bit telling on the PP. The Canucks ignored the points other than Boyle and really focused on the forwards down low, there were some chances from the point, but nothing that felt threatening. On the 2:00 5-on-3 the Sharks didn't seem to be even trying to create anything from the point, and that pretty much made it a 4-on-3 down low with a weakside guy who wasn't doing much.

Niemi can be beaten if you go up high. He is deep in his net and he gets down and takes away the ice like almost nobody has since Hasek. But his rebound control is shitty and snipers who can pick corners on the fly will burn him. Fortunately for him the Sharks take away shooting lanes as aggressively as anyone in the league and clear the front of the net quickly.

They definitely make up for their few weaknesses quite well with team play.

Not pumping Gillis' tires here, but Doug WIlson has been GM in Sharkland for many years and his teams have been underwhelming to say the least come playoffs. How many times were they considered a favourite in the West only to have Dumbo Joe disappear like a fart in a windstorm?

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt "

Potatoe1 wrote:
I thought Toppers assessment of the new system was ass backwards in a lot of ways, but hey if you sound like you know what you are talking about most will agree with you.

LOL

Well anyone who calls the Torts defensive system "a more aggressive man to man style" then the AV system, when it's CLEARLY the opposite should draw some lol's. But oh well. It was AV's defensive system that was much more aggressive and based on man to man coverage.

Amazing how the masses miss the obvious.

The main difference between the Torts and AV stystem is that in the offensive zone the forwards are more aggressive and the D's hold the point.

In the defensive zone there is FAR LESS "man to man" and they go into a much more passive zone type configuration and let the other team pass it around the outside while we clog the middle and block shots.

It's the same system that teams like the Kings and Bruins just killed us with the past few years (3 forward forecheck + collapse to the middle zone defense).

Not sure we have the right group to play like this but it is what it is.

Your reading comprehension is worse than your spelling. I suggest you ask for a refund from the ESL College.

Potatoe1 wrote:
The Sedins have been letting their defensive game slide for years under AV, last night was a total 180 IMO. Seems pretty clear that these guys are straight up fantastic player who will give you what ever you want until they run out of gas.

That BTW is the main problem having them kill penalties and block shots etc, it's just a lot to ask ofsmall ish, guys who play way out west. They have always had a difficult time getting through the playoff grind, I don't think asking them to play this way is going to help.

Potatoe1 wrote:
The difference between the Sedins and Alex Burrows should be pretty obvious.

True, and size or small ish(ness) is not one of the differences.

Butt continue to wax on, you'll have bikini lines in time for the playoffs.

RoyalDude wrote:All it took was getting rid of the slow as molasses and the undisciplined - Clowe, Murray and Handzus...well and some good drafting and allowing those draft picks to make the team.

Wilson is a genius GM, rebuilds while remaining competitive. If only Mikey could see the light

Canucks have done more in the postseason and have had better regular season success with Gillis at the helm than the Sharks with Wilson running the ship.

Wilson has done the exact same thing as Gillis did a few years back when he brought in guys like Sammy, Ehrhoff, Malhotra, Torres, and Hamuis.

If the Sharks can make the final this year and continue to make noise in the playoffs the next few years, you have a valid point. Until then continue your trolling or sign up on the Sharks message board and rub one out while chatting with their fans.

RoyalDude wrote:All it took was getting rid of the slow as molasses and the undisciplined - Clowe, Murray and Handzus...well and some good drafting and allowing those draft picks to make the team.

Wilson is a genius GM, rebuilds while remaining competitive. If only Mikey could see the light

Canucks have done more in the postseason and have had better regular season success with Gillis at the helm than the Sharks with Wilson running the ship.

Wilson has done the exact same thing as Gillis did a few years back when he brought in guys like Sammy, Ehrhoff, Malhotra, Torres, and Hamuis.

If the Sharks can make the final this year and continue to make noise in the playoffs the next few years, you have a valid point. Until then continue your trolling or sign up on the Sharks message board and rub one out while chatting with their fans.

??? BS.. this is from NHL.COM - Dude is right !!

In his eight seasons in charge of the Sharks hockey department, Wilson has guided the team to its most successful era since the franchise’s inception, capturing a Presidents’ Trophy (2009), five Pacific Division titles and advancing to the Western Conference Final on three occasions (2004, 2010, 2011).
In his tenure as general manager, only the Detroit Red Wings have appeared in more Stanley Cup Playoff rounds (19) than San Jose (17).

RoyalDude wrote:All it took was getting rid of the slow as molasses and the undisciplined - Clowe, Murray and Handzus...well and some good drafting and allowing those draft picks to make the team.

Wilson is a genius GM, rebuilds while remaining competitive. If only Mikey could see the light

I agree and disagree with these comments.

I agree that San Jose has done a good job of rebranding themselves these past few years, but I also think that you're being unnecessarily harsh on Mike Gillis.

Back in 2011, Gillis brought in some crucial pieces such as Erhoff, Torres, and Lapierre, and we managed to get a solid cup run out of it. A large part of the reason why the Canucks haven't had many draft picks make the team, is because we've been an elite team since 08/09 and so our roster spots were pretty much solidified.

Outside of last season, the Canucks have enjoyed a remarkable amount of success with this core. Even during the 2011/2012 season when we underachieved, the truth of the matter is that we won another Presidents' trophy and then lost to a team that was sizzling hot.

Last season, Kesler was missing almost the entire year.

The Canucks kryptonite seems to be against teams that play a 1-3-1 in the neutral zone, but are extremely aggressive on the forecheck, and have great team speed. This is why we struggled against teams like Boston, LA, and San Jose. I'm guessing that St. Louis will give us similar troubles unless we change.

Anaheim gives us trouble with their aggressive forecheck, and Detroit's speed last year was tough for us to handle.

Outside of that though, the Canucks usually do a good job of getting the better of other teams. Lets see how we do this year before passing out quick judgements.

From what I see so far, we've only had 1 bad season out of the last 5 years, and our last 3 playoff losses came to teams that play a style that doesn't match up well at all with ours.

***Edit*** - If the Canucks are shopping for a top 6 winger and a solid 3rd line center, I'd consider looking to Buffalo. See if Thomas Vaneck and Steve Ott are available. We can offer them Higgins, Hansen, and Edler. Overall cap hits work out to be very similar.

vic wrote:
It's funny how you and Rummy dish out shit against Gillis and go on about how Burke and Nonis are to credit for the "success" of this franchise but bitch and complain that the likes of Ehrhoff, Malhotra, Torres would help this team which were all additions made under Gillis.

Um, you need to get your facts straight Victor.

I have never credited Burke and Nonis with our succcess.

And I think Gillis deserves a shitload of praise for what he did in his first three years here.

I also think he deserves a fair bit of criticism for his last two years here.

So kindly keep my name outcho mouf if you don't have a clue what the fuck you're talking about.